


Missed a spot

by Sano



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: A LOT of Angst, Angst, Eruri Week, M/M, Pining, maybe canon, post-ACWNR
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 17:54:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15779118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sano/pseuds/Sano
Summary: Written for Eruri week 2018 day 3: Enemies to Lovers. Levi has noticed it for years but doesn’t say anything about it.





	Missed a spot

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: These old men don’t belong to me. All the kudos to Isayama-sensei for creating characters to fall in love with, then be absolutely horrible to them.  
> Note: Written for Eruri Week 2018 day 3. It’s a tad late but this was hard to churn out. Enjoy!

* * *

For the 100th time, Levi questioned his decision in taking a job that made him join the Survey corps.

Running a wet rag to wipe down the window near his bunk, he ignored the sounds of the other trainees around him. Someone a few yards from his position made a crude joke about a female trainee’s breasts while the men around him roared with laughter.

Empty-minded bastards, Levi thought to himself as he rolled his eyes. All they did was to shit themselves during training, taunt him and Farlan, then making little shits of themselves again at dinner.

He questioned his decision for the 101st time.

A trumpet resounded from the quad where they do their training, meaning they had to assemble. Levi took off the mask from his face and kicked the headboard of Farlan’s bunk to wake him up.

They all hurried to their respective squads, Levi lining up behind Isabel, Farlan following him. Flagen, their squad leader, looked over them while counting. His eyes narrowed when looking at the three of them.

Levi mustered all of his willpower not to roll his eyes again.

There was an announcement of some sort, about their first expedition outside the walls. Then Erwin Smith was speaking in front while a board with their formation plans was brought out by a couple of soldiers.

Blondie was walking from squad to squad as he spoke, his blue eyes intent and scoping out anyone who may have questions.

He walked in front of Flagen’s squad, and for a brief moment, his eyes met Levi’s. Levi’s eyes narrowing in challenge, wanting nothing more than to punch that blondie’s face.

When Erwin’s head turned sideways to the next squad, Levi noticed something on the side of his neck, right below his right ear. It was almost hidden by the collar of his shirt, a small patch of stubble that was missed during shaving.

Petty as the thought was, Levi was utterly disgusted (and highly amused) at the idea of THE Erwin Smith missing a spot while shaving.

*^^*

He was consumed by so much anger and grief as he looked at the carnage around him. Titan blood was streaming down his face and arms as it was washed off by the pouring rain, Isabel’s empty gaze staring at him from the corner of his eye.

Levi heard the clomping of horses’ hooves but he barely noticed. He was paralyzed by the loss of the only people he cared about.

The rain was already starting to slow down, and slowly, the remains of Flagen’s squad appeared in its entirety to the approaching group.

“You’re the only one left. How pathetic.” Levi only saw red as his gaze snapped to the man he was supposed to kill, vowing to make those words to be the last to come out of that smug, condescending bastard’s mouth.

He was fast, but Erwin still managed to block the blade with his hand. The tip of the blade was close enough to nick the side of his neck.

Later after Mike wrestled him off Erwin, Levi noticed that the wound on blondie’s neck was near that spot of stubble.

*^^*

That unshaven spot on the newly-promoted Commander’s neck always beckoned Levi’s attention when they ride outside the walls. Sometimes, Erwin got it right, but most of the time he missed it. For a person that always kept himself meticulously groomed, it was annoying.

At the same time, that little spot provided a measure a relief. It signified that the man the rest of the world called a demon was human enough to miss out on such a simple task.

Levi was training the fresh batch of recruits on the field when Erwin passed by, Mike walking beside him, a silent shadow, as Hange chatted non-stop on the other side.

Everyone in the group stood at attention for their Commander, he acknowledged their salute and told them to carry on.

Blue eyes briefly flashed to meet his. Shying away from the contact, Levi turned to a trainee that asked a question as Erwin and the others walked away.

He couldn’t explain why he had to suddenly catch his breath.

*^^*

Levi was walking back to his room after taking his nighttime bath when he passed by Erwin’s office. He noticed that light from a candle was still flickering through the open doorway. Resolving to tell Erwin off for working late into the night (while ignoring the reason behind why he was so concerned), Levi went into the office.

He stopped in his tracks at the sight before him. Erwin was at his desk, but he wasn’t working.

Exhaustion had finally caught up with the blonde. Erwin had a quill in his right hand, the ink dripping onto the document he was probably working on. His head was slumped on the desk, his mouth open as he snored.

Levi’s eyebrow twitched as he debated on what to do. Obviously Erwin needed sleep, at the same time, his military rank also prevented him from embarrassing his superior officer by waking him up.

He debated what to do while standing in front of Erwin’s desk. If it were any other officers, like shitty-glasses, it would be easy to smack them on the back of the head to wake them up.

Suddenly, the thought that a few years ago, an unguarded moment like this would be the perfect time to kill Erwin… but a lot has changed since then.

Levi’s hand curled into a fist.

The candlelight flickered and illuminated the side of the other man’s nape. Again, that missed spot stood out in the meager illumination provided by the candle on Erwin’s desk.

How he itched to shave that patch of stubble off, Levi bristled in his thoughts. All he would need to do is to pull the skin of the neck back, lather it well, then glide a wickedly sharp razor through that nefarious patch of hair.

Erwin suddenly started to stir on the desk while Levi suddenly discovered in horror that his hands had placed themselves on the blond’s nape.

Blue eyes blinked open to the empty office, then started slightly at the office door as it slammed shut as if by an invisible force.

*^^*

The door closed behind Hange and Levi turned to face his Commander. It was hard to not notice that Erwin was unkempt, with three day’s worth of facial hair, his blonde hair falling against the sides of his head and wanting a bit of trimming.

His right arm, or what was left of it, wrapped in bandages.

“So, what now?” Levi drawled out as he dropped down onto the chair beside the bed. He crossed his legs, belying a casual manner while on the inside, he was brewing for a fight.

Erwin lay down on the pillow behind him. “We wait for more information.”

“‘Tch.” Damn his knee. And damn that Mikasa for being a brat when they were trying to get Eren back. But then again… he sneaked a glance at Erwin. He couldn’t really blame her for doing anything to save Eren.

“That’s fucking boring.” Levi retorted. But it seemed that Erwin didn’t hear him. The Commander was staring up at the ceiling, his eyes belying the cogwheels churning in his highly-intelligent head.

To anyone, it would seem as if the blonde man was thinking of plans that would get them through this shit-show of titans. But as his left hand gripped the remainder of his right shoulder, Levi realized that his mind was spiraling down. Spiraling into a dark place.

“Oi, Erwin!” Levi snapped at the other man to get his attention.

Erwin was startled out of his reverie. His left arm dropped to his side as he shook his head sheepishly. “Sorry, Levi. I was just…”

“What do you need?”

“What?”

Levi crossed his arms over his chest, “What do you need right now? I’ll help you.”

Erwin looked startled at the offer. For a few moments, his left hand was making a mess of the sheets as he clutched at them. Finally, he let the sheets go as he looked back at Levi.

His voice was uncharacteristically uncertain as he said, “I would like to take a bath, and shave.”

Levi nodded in a business-like fashion, as if Erwin just asked him to kill a bunch of titans, or humans, as they just discovered. He took off his coat and folded his sleeves until they were neatly gathered at his elbows.

He went to the bathroom attached to the room. One of the perks of being Commander was he had his own bathtub. Turning the water on, Levi prepared everything needed for the bath. A washcloth, soap, a razor, and another towel that he soaked in the hot water that was left from tea earlier.

When the tub was full, he went out to get Erwin. Though he was a bit weak, Erwin was able to get to the bathroom with minimum assistance. Taking his clothes off though was a bit of a challenge. Losing his arm meant his balance was off. Levi bade him to hold onto the bathroom counter as he helped him out of his clothes.

They blamed the warm air in the bathroom for the blush that tinged both their cheeks.

“Sit there.” He pointed at a wooden stool next to the tub.

“I can wash my-“

Levi waved his hand in dismissal, “I’ll wash your back and hair. You take care of business below.” He grabbed the soap and washcloth. After lathering it up, he started to scrub his back and shoulders. He was extremely careful as he rubber around his right shoulder. They left the bandages on for now, to be replaced after the bath.

After scrubbing at his skin and hair, Levi helped Erwin to get into the tub. There was a moment when Erwin thought he was holding onto the edge of the tub with his right arm out of habit and he almost tipped over. Good thing Levi had fast reflexes.

“I’m sorry to make you do this, Levi.” Erwin said as he laid back on the edge of the tub. “Once everything’s settled, I’ll hire a caretaker to help me with tasks like this until I can do them on my own.”

Levi raised an eyebrow at him, “Do you really want a fucking stranger to wipe your ass for you?”

“If ne-“

Levi cut him off, “No, I’ll do it. Wouldn’t do to have someone you don’t trust getting that close to you.” He brought over the razor and hot towel to shave off Erwin’s beard while he laid in the tub.

Erwin caught the captain’s eyes as he hovered over him, “And can I trust you implicitly, Levi?” His voice became lower, a bit gruff. His eyes gazing up at Levi, the trust in them was too much for Levi to take.

He wasn’t sure if he deserved that trust.

Levi looked away, unable to take the intensity in the Commander’s blue eyes. “I’ll tell you when you don’t look like a homeless person from the Underground.” Erwin chuckled at that and let the smaller man do his job.

Levi laid down the hot towel around the other man’s cheeks and chin to soften his beard while he grabbed the soap to make a lather in a small pail for shaving. After a few minutes, he took off the towel from Erwin’s face and started to lather it. Erwin looked relaxed with his eyes closed, but Levi spied his left hand gripping onto the edge of the tub firmly.

He started on the left side of the face, making sure the razor was always sharp by running it through the strop that came with the razor. For the next few minutes he let the blade do the work for him, working from one side of the face to the next.

As he came to the right side, Levi saw the patch of hair underneath his ear that always drove him crazy when it was missed. He noticed that Erwin had relaxed completely in the tub, his left hand dropping into the water. The harsh lines on his face looked softer from above. Probably because he wasn’t thinking up strategies or expeditions.

Running the blade through the strop, Levi shaved underneath his right ear.

Erwin looked and felt better after he settled into freshly-changed sheets. Levi had already taken off the soiled bandages before he finished his bath, both of them poker-faced at the mawled surface of what used to be Erwin’s right arm.

Levi finished tying the bandage on Erwin’s arm and stood up. “Rest, Erwin. I’ll clean up around here then I’ll wake you when it’s time for dinner.” He started to walk away but Erwin grabbed his wrist.

“Levi.”

“What?”

“Thank you.” There was a look in Erwin’s eyes that Levi hadn’t seen before. It terrified him.

Pulling his wrist out of Erwin’s hand gently, he went to the door to get his cleaning supplies. “Get some rest, Erwin.”

*^^*

And so it has come to this, Levi thought as he knelt in front of Erwin. “I’m making the choice.”

“Give up your dreams and die for us.”

“Lead the recruits straight into hell.”

“And I’ll take down the Beast Titan.” He struck his chest in the most earnest salute that he’s given his Commander. He looked up at Erwin, his gaze unwavering.

The desolation in Erwin’s face softened to that of resignation, and when he spoke, there was clear gratitude in his voice. “Thank you, Levi.” He then reached forward to grab Levi’s right hand and brought it to the side of his face. Levi noticed that the right side was shaved properly, without the patch of hair that irked him. Erwin had trained himself to shave with his left hand since the first time Levi had helped him, and it seemed that he was already good at it.

Levi pressed the back of his hand against Erwin’s face, hardly believing that they were doing _this_ right before either one of them dies.

“Er-“ Levi caught his breath as Erwin placed a kiss on the back of his hand, the feel of his lips so warm the feeling was seared onto Levi’s skin. He pulled his hand back, his brain reeling.

Levi looked back at Erwin and what he saw in his gaze confirmed that whatever feelings he has for his Commander, they were returned.

When they settled Erwin’s body in one of the houses still left standing after the battle, Levi requested a moment alone. Hange and the others trailed out slowly, with Hange looking back one last time to check on Levi before heading out.

He sank to his knees in front of Erwin’s body, his fingers trailing over the side of his face. It was smooth and cool to the touch. If it weren’t for the hole on the left side of his body where the Beast Titan had hit him, it almost looked as if Erwin was only sleeping.

After touching the skin underneath Erwin’s ear one last time, Levi stood up and did his best to marshal his emotions. Now was not the time.

Looking back once more at Erwin, he closed the door and joined the others.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for making it till the end! I don’t know why I ended it like this, probably because I’ve been re-reading this section of the manga a lot lately and that moment between Erwin and Levi meant SO SO much. 
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


End file.
